Parallels
by BrianOsler
Summary: Post Before the Flood: SV, JI, eventually Neiss Rated T 11 new chapters up. If they arrive here, it could very well be the end of the world.
1. The Phone is Ringing

Sydney's POV

The phone is ringing; it has been ringing off and on for the past two weeks. I glance sideways at it, knowing full well who's on the other end of the line. In my heart, I yearn to pick up the handset, to listen to his deep, reassuring voice as he whispers in my ear that all will be well. I want to run back to him, feel his tight embrace, and never leave him. Yes, I want all of that, but whenever I remember what he said before the accident, I know that I can't allow myself to give into my desires.

My hand wanders over to the handset, which I lift only enough for the button to spring up, and then I let it go again, silencing the incessant noise. I enjoy the few minutes of silence before the phone shrieks, causing me to repeat the cycle.

"Well, for starters, my name isn't Michael Vaughn." Those words still echo in my ears, never leaving. I want to move on, but I can't force myself to take those first steps.

I glance at the clock, amazed that it's already 2:00. Grabbing the cane from beside the couch, I struggle to get up and walk over to the freezer. Pulling out the package of hot dogs, I grab a sharp knife and pierce the plastic that holds all eight together. Pulling out two, I toss them haphazardly into a dish, fill it with some water, and put it into the microwave and start it.

The phone rings again. Three rings later, I hear my answering machine click on, and I hear his voice as he records his message. "Syd, we need to talk. Please, Syd, just pick up the phone." A click signals the end of the message. Walking over as quickly as I can, given my injuries, I press the delete button and go back to waiting by the microwave as my hot dogs finish cooking.

As I sit down, the phone rings again. I'd change my number if I thought it'd do any good. I notice that I've forgotten the bun and the toppings, so I get up again, grab what I need and sit down again. Using a fork to get the meat out of the steaming water, I place it in the bun and then put on the ketchup and mustard. I curse as some of the mustard falls on my… actually, I should say Vaughn's, or whatever the h his name is's shirt. Getting up, I wet a paper towel and blot at the spot, but I know there'll be a stain.

Another ring penetrates the silence that I have learned to enjoy over the past few weeks, but this ring is different. This ring is the ring of my cellphone, which is to be used only for business. I unclip it from my waist and look at the display. It's Dad calling.

Though there had been a rift between us earlier this year, since Dad found out about Vaughn's, or whatever the h his name is's duplicity, he's been the one person that I know that I can lean on. He's been through the same thing with Irina; therefore I know I can trust him completely in this situation. "Hey," is all I say, letting him know I'm there.

"Hello, Sydney."

"You're calling me on my cell phone. Is this something business related?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I need you to come in. It's important."

"Will 'Vaughn' be there?"

"Sydney, when I told Director Chase what Vaughn told you, it became apparent that she knew what he was talking about. She doesn't feel that his secret is a threat to national security, so I wasn't able to get him discharged from APO. Yes, Sydney, he'll be there."

"Dad, I…I can't."

"Unfortunately, I don't have a choice in this. Sydney, you are ordered to report for this briefing. It directly concerns you."

"Do you know…Dad?"

"That man's secret?"

"Yeah. Do you know what it is?"

"Director Chase didn't tell me. I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"When's the meeting?"

"It starts whenever you arrive. Take your time. I love you, Sydney."

A lone tear comes to my eye. "I love you, too, Dad."

I walk into my bedroom, noticing the pile of clothes that I took out of Vaughn's drawer. I still think of him as Vaughn, I think to myself. Changing quickly, I go out to the garage adjacent to the apartment and grab a box. I thoroughly go through my apartment, finding everything of his, and putting it in the box.

When I'm sure I've eradicated him from my apartment, I take the box out to my car and prepare to leave.

I pull up at the parking lot by the subway minutes later, and carrying the box, struggle to descend the steps, and enter the door, marked Authorized Personnel Only. Successfully clearing all the security protocol, I enter the hallway that leads to the underground bunker. I take some time to reacquaint myself with some of my coworkers before walking into the meeting room, where he sits. I put the box down by the door and walk over to the empty chair that I know is reserved for me.

Dad looks at the group and nods slightly before beginning. "We received a transmission today that requires our immediate attention. Jack pushes a button and the audio plays through the speakers.

"We need your help!" the woman on the tape says frantically. "Scientists have predicted that the magnetic field is about to reverse. Should that happen, the Earth's magnetosphere, which helps prevent gamma and X-rays from space would disappear, allowing for the complete power of the sun to bake Earth's surface, killing every living thing. We need a location to evacuate to. Should we stay on our planet, it'll be the end of the world. Please help us."

The transmission ended.

"I don't get it," I say, confused. "I thought you said this directly affected me."

"It does," Dad says, his face nondescript, but what else is new.

"How?"

"Marshall?"

He stands up before the crowd, and I listen intently as he begins. "Well, Ms. Bristow, it is Ms. Bristow right? It's not Mrs. Vaughn is it?"

"It's Ms. Bristow," I say holding up my bare ring finger, not only for Marshall's confirmation, but to show him that I'm no longer wearing his ring.

"Okay, then. Ms. Bristow…Sydney, we ran a voice print analysis of the speaker, trying to find out who sent it, and here's the thing, when it was completed, the results came up with you being the speaker."

"What?"

"Sydney Bristow recorded that message."

"I never recorded that. Where'd the transmission come from?"

Marshall swallowed hard.

"Marshall?" I ask, somewhat scared.

"The transmission," he begins with a sigh. "The transmission came from outer space."

…TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Vaughn's POV

She won't answer my calls. I've been trying to reach her repeatedly for the past few weeks. I know there are times that I've annoyed to the point of her either leaving the phone off the hook, or disconnecting the telephone line for a little bit because at times I receive a busy signal. It's not my intention to annoy her, but I know that if she gives me any time at all, even just five minutes, I can explain myself, and hopefully reconcile with her. I've truly missed her. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you have until you lose it," and I've never realized…cancel that, I realized that when she had "died" after her fight with Francie, excuse me, Allison, but the realization sinks in again.

I hear her pick up, and I frantically beg her to listen to me, but my pleas are instantly met by a dial tone. I know she's trying to shut me up, and I give her a few minutes before I dial her number again, only to be greeted with a dial tone when she picks up again.

I know she must still be sore from what I told her in the car before that d car accident. We were the lucky ones. We were wearing our seatbelts, and according to the medics, that's what saved our lives; unfortunately the other couple wasn't so lucky.

I've been calling since 10:00 this morning, and it's already 2:00. Time flies when you're really bored, I guess. I wait a little more before dialing her number again. Fortunately this time, she allows the answering machine to pick up. "Syd," I start off, "we need to talk. Please, Syd, just pick up the phone. I wait a few seconds, but when nothing happens, I hang up again.

I know that the constant ringing of the phone is annoying, but if it'll give me a chance to explain myself to her, I'll keep it up. I dial the number again. No one answers, and almost as soon as I hang up, I get another call. Answering it, I hear Weiss's voice at the other end. "Hey, bud, we're about to have a meeting here at APO. You're required to show up."

"Will Sydney be there?"

"Yeah, Jack's calling her right now."

"I'll be there in a bit." I hang up the phone, change into some better clothes and drive out to APO. When I get in the meeting room, I look for two adjacent chairs so that Sydney will be forced to sit next to me. Jack obviously has already anticipated this, and Wiess and Marshall separate the remaining two free chairs.

The group sits around in silence, and I can see the fury towards me that Jack is very clearly trying to hold in to keep from hurting me. He stares at me, watching my every move. He's studying me, much like a lion stalks it's prey before it strikes.

Sydney finally arrives, carrying a box, the contents of which I can clearly make out being some of my clothes, and other miscellaneous things that I've left about her apartment in our times together. She takes her seat and Jack begins speaking.

"We received a transmission today that requires our immediate attention." Pushing a button, a voice that sounds surprisingly familiar to me wafts through the room.

"We need your help!" the voice says, clearly concerned about something. "Scientists have predicted that the magnetic field is about to reverse. Should that happen, the Earth's magnetosphere, which helps prevent gamma and X-rays from space would disappear, allowing for the complete power of the sun to bake Earth's surface, killing every living thing. We need a location to evacuate to. Should we stay on our planet, it'll be the end of the world. Please help us."

"Good God" I think to myself as the transmission ceases.

"I don't get it," Sydney says, and I turn to look at her. "I thought you said this directly affected me."

"It does," Jack says, and I suddenly realize why I recognized the voice. How could I have not figured it out before?

"How?" she asks, and I open my mouth to speak, but am interrupted by Jack turning the job of explaining the transmission over to Marshall.

He begins nervously, and from what he says, I'm sure that rumors of what happened in Santa Barbara have been floating around APO since our return. He questions her name, checking to make sure she hasn't taken my last name. She answers by showing him her bare finger, and I want to cry, knowing the pain I've put her through.

"Okay, then. Ms. Bristow…Sydney, we ran a voice print analysis of the speaker, trying to find out who sent it, and here's the thing, when it was completed, the results came up with you being the speaker."

Though I had figured out that she was the speaker earlier, the obvious question of why would Sydney send that message, and if she did, why doesn't she remember it comes to the forefront of my mind.

"What?" she asks, obviously confused.

"Sydney Bristow recorded that message."

"I never recorded that. Where'd the transmission come from?" she insists, though the evidence is pointing the other way.

I see Marshall's Adam's apple move as he swallows, and I know that the news he's about to deliver isn't good.

"Marshall?"

"The transmission," he falters here, and I'm hanging on to his every word. "The transmission came from outer space."

My eyes go big. I've learned to accept a lot of things from this job, and the job that I had before it, but this reveal shakes me to my core.

"Marshall, what are you saying?" she asks, trying to get a handle on the situation.

"We pinpointed the location of the transmission at a point far, far away. After we had a location, we had NASA point the Hubble Telescope at it and take some pictures. This is what they came up with.

The screens on the table changed.

"Now this," Marshall says with a smile, "is extremely awesome. We had the pictures enlarged." The picture on the screen zooms in some more. I recognize what it is showing, but Weiss speaks up first.

"That looks like the Milky Way," he says incredulously, and I look at the screen in confusion.

"That's because in a sense it is," Marshall continues. "We were able to further magnify the picture. This is the planet that sent the message." The picture on the screen zooms in again, and I'm looking at a picture of a planet that looks exactly like Earth.

"Oh, my God," I mutter to myself.

Marshall is silent for a moment as everyone turns to him. "We were contacted," Marshall said, and then paused for effect, "by a parallel universe. That planet that you see is Earth, except that it's a parallel version of our Earth. They're in trouble, and they need our help. They're going to send an ambassador. We're going to meet with her in two days. We're going to discuss options, and then we'll take action."

I've never seen Marshall be able to give a speech like this without getting sidetracked in some way, and the fact that he didn't this time shows me just how incredible what we just found out was.

The meeting dismisses and I see Sydney heading for the door. I hurry up and catch up to her, only to get a nice slap across my face.

"Syd," I beg her. "Just give me five minutes."

She looks at me, clearly debating whether to agree to these terms. She looks down at her watch. "You've got three."

I look at her. "What do you want to know first?"

"What's your real name?" she asks.

"Before I tell you, I need you to promise me that my family name won't blind you to my real personality. I really don't have much of my dad in me." She looks at me confused and nods.

"My name," I begin, "is..."

…TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sydney's POV

I've granted him three minutes to explain himself. He asks me what I want to know first. Of all the questions he could ask, what one is more obvious than that? "What's your real name?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Before I tell you, I need you to promise me that my family name won't blind you to my real personality. I really don't have much of my dad in me." I'm confused now, but I nod, allowing him to continue. His most recent words shake me to my core. There are only two names that he could give that would cause a foul taste in my mouth should he say them: Sark and Sloane.

"My name is Terry Kendall, Jr."

"What?" I ask, completely blown away.

"Kendall, he's my dad. Well, technically he's not, Bill Vaughn is my biological father, but I grew up with Kendall."

"What happened?"

"Dad will kill me if I tell you."

"What?"

"Kendall has a…problem, and I hope you're catching my drift because talking about my Dad's…um…shortcomings in the sack, isn't exactly comfortable for me."

I try to hold in my laughter. Thinking of Kendall having trouble in that aspect is just too funny.

"Mom really wanted a child. She went to a sperm bank, and the sperm cell that caught and penetrated her egg was that of Bill Vaughn. Technically, Bill Vaughn is my father, but he was more of a mentor growing up."

I speak again. "But you said that depending on who you ask, you could be considered a bad guy?"

"Yes, I did." He pauses, clearly trying to decide how to phrase the next statement. "When we first met, I was undercover for the DSR. As was clear from your experiences with them, the DSR doesn't have to abide by the typical rules that we who work for the CIA must abide by. We…they are given great liberties, including the right to kill in pursuit of a goal."

"The DSR has that type of authority?" I ask, shocked.

"Yeah. They use it quite a bit, too. Especially when it concerns Rambaldi."

The realization of what he had been saying in the car sinks in, and guilt washes over me. I had automatically assumed the worst, when there was a completely logical explanation behind it.

"I'm sorry I was dumping it on you like that, but I figured it wasn't bad enough to make you not agree to marry me."

I know my eyes are wide from shock, but as he stands there, apologizing yet again, I close the distance between us and proceed to shut him up by bringing our mouths together in a long, tantalizing kiss.

I pull away quite reluctantly when I hear Weiss clear his throat. "I see he told you," he says with a nod.

I nod my head enthusiastically, causing him to smile.

"Listen, I'm sure there plenty you two would like to do, but Syd, I'm going to the hospital to see Nadia. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

I look over at Vaughn. Yes, there is plenty of things I'd love to do, but I take Weiss up on his offer, and as I walk away, I remember something. Turning around, I toss Vaughn my keys. "The middle one's the new key to my front door. Make yourself at home." I smile at him softly, and run to catch up with Weiss.

…TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't put this on the earlier chapters. Alias is not mine. It never has been, and it never will be. I just take the characters and write my own stories with them.

Also, if you like Nadia, this chapter is being given a tissue warning.

Chapter 4

Weiss's POV

I stand before the woman of my dreams and I'm sickened. I'm sickened by the thought of just how evil some people on this planet can be. Sickened by what this woman's own aunt has done to her.

When I first saw her in that hospital bed, restrained and sedated, I pitied her. That pity lasted until she started to wake from the sedatives. The woman I saw then wasn't Nadia, far from it. She looked at me with those horrible red eyes, and shedidn't even recognize me.

Though the doctors have told me that there's no hope, I still hold a glimmer of optimism. I believe that someway, somehow, we'll find a cure. I believe in vain, and I realize this. APO has brought in some of the world's greatest doctors and geneticists, but to no avail.

Those doctors have all agreed on one thing: Nadia is no longer Nadia. She's been replaced by a psychopathic, homicidal maniac that is a danger to both herself and to those around her.

I know I have to accept this. I know that I will lose her. I can't accept it, though. I can't accept that the greatest woman ever was turned into a monster by just a little tap water.

When Jack returned, he told everyone at APO about what had happened in Savogda, and all I could think about was how Jack should have injected Elena with the water. Elena was lucky. Her death was quick and painless. She should have suffered. She should have been taken apart, piece-by-piece. A simple bullet through the skull isn't justice, not even close.

I look over at Sydney. She's biting her lip. I know she has something to tell me, and I can tell it's not good news.

"What is it?"

She brushes some hair behind her ear. "I received a letter the other day."

"What type of letter?"

"It was a letter from the hospital." Instantly I know what the letter said.

"Due to Sloane being in custody, and ruled not of sane mind, and Irina's whereabouts being unknown, I'm the next of kin for Nadia."

Even though society says that men shouldn't cry, it's a sign of weakness, I can't help it because I know what's coming next.

"The letter included all the opinions of the highly certified doctors that have evaluated Nadia's condition. The result, without any opposition, is that there's nothing they can do to save Nadia. They're asking me to authorize physician-assisted suicide."

"You didn't say yes, did you?"

"No, I haven't. I don't intend to make any decision until at least two days from now."

"Why two days?"

"Because I'm hoping that the ambassador from that planet might be able to help."

"What if he can't?"

"If she can't help…" Sydney trailed off shaking her head. "Let's just not think like that."

I love Sydney, I respect her greatly, but what she has just said scares me. "If she can't help, will you authorize it?"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

"What?"

"Destiny? Do you believe that our actions have been predetermined and that no matter what we do, we can't change what is going to happen?"

"I'd prefer not to."

"Same here. I have, however, been considering this greatly as of late. I've come to one conclusion."

"What is it?"

"We've seen the impossible happen before. It can happen again. I'm not going to give authorization unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Thank you."

"Can you take me home?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

We pull up in front of her house a couple of minutes later. Sydney gets out of the car, but then turns around to talk to me again.

"She's going to be okay."

The dam breaks, and the tears fall freely. "Thank you," I choke out.

…TBC…


	5. We can Reheat

Chapter 5

Sydney's POV

Vaughn obviously made good use of the key. Excuse me, Kendall (man that leaves a sour taste on my tongue) sure made use of the key. (I can't believe he's Kendall's son. He's nothing like him. Sorry, I'm still trying to grasp what I was just told today.)

Soft music is floating around the apartment, I can clearly see several bouquets of daisies everywhere (he remembered that they were my favorite), and I can smell the votive candles that I have in various locations of the apartment. I walk forward surveying the scene. I don't think I've ever seen my apartment as beautiful as it is right now.

A wonderful scent bites at my nostrils, and I know that Vaughn is cooking something. (Yet another thing I didn't know about him.)

"Just sit back and relax. I'll take care of this." He smiles at me, and I obey. I recall the first time that I cooked him dinner. We could have had it hot off the stove, but in the end, we decided to reheat.

"We do have an oven, you know. We can reheat." Little did he know, (or maybe he knew all to well) that reheating had been my plan from the very beginning. (Why else would I have not worn a bra?) I remember feeling his hand on my hand, pulling me into a long, gratifying kiss. I had felt his hand on my side, and the mere contact was making it hard to form a coherent thought.

We had moved back to the bedroom, almost unable to break apart from each other. I had wanted it for so long, and it was finally in reach. Never had I desired anything as much as I had desired what had transpired that night.

We didn't reheat at all that night. Our meal had been enjoyed by Will and Fran…Allison, excuse me, at about 10:00.

We didn't care. We were far to "busy."

I quietly walk up behind Vaughn, as he shuts off the stove. He turns and smiles at me. "Dinner's ready," he says with a smile.

I kiss him. "We do have an oven, you know. We can reheat." (I know, however, that whatever he made won't get reheated in the immediate future.)

As he lays on the bed, clearly ready for the night to start, I make him wait long enough to slip on the engagement ring before I slip everything else off.

…TBC…


	6. Business to take care of

Chapter 6

Jack's POV

"Space," I mumble to myself. "Extraterrestrials. Parallel universes. When did my life become a sci-fi movie?" I shake my head and think about the times when all I had to worry about was some terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear bomb. Ah, for the good old days. Nowadays I have to worry about Sydney going on all those dangerous missions, her relationship with that imposter who I had just welcomed into the family, and a planet that's about to get cooked from the sun's rays being directed full-force onto the surface of that planet, not to mention the fact that I'm sure Director Chase knows that I let Irina go and my continuing treatments with Dr. Liddell for my radiation poisoning. Sure, I'm almost completely cured, but I still have a little radiation in me.

As I enter my humble little apartment, I see that Laura is out of water. I fill her bowl and sit down on the couch to read the paper. Most people say, "There's no news like bad news," but with what I see on a day-to-day basis, reading about carjackings, muggings, and the occasional homicide is like a ray of light through the darkness. It's nice to know that there are people out there that are more concerned with taking someone's car than taking over the world using a giant floating red ball in conjunction with some contaminated water that my daughter's half-sister's father primed for an attack such as this.

As Laura comes in the window and starts licking up the water, I stare at the little ball of fur. I found her in an alleyway; someone had dumped her in a cardboard box. As I walked by the box, a small meow sounded and I looked down at the little calico cat rubbing against my leg.

I had no intention of adopting her. The idea of having a pet, well frankly it scared me. Having this little creature free in my house to urinate wherever she darn well pleases, scratching up my furniture, and shedding hair all over the place didn't appeal to me.

When I got to the apartment, I walked inside, leaving the little creature outside. After all, she wasn't my cat. I had pretty much forgotten about her until the next morning on the way to work, when, lo and behold, there she was, waiting. She looked up at me with those brown eyes that reminded me so much of Laura's (AKA Irina's) eyes, that I picked her up and, after clearing it with the landlord, took her up to my apartment.

That was the first day I had been late to work in over 40 years, but coming home to that little fur ball made it all worth it.

Ever since Sydney had to come to my apartment to look for me, she's been giving me miscellaneous cat toys on about a weekly basis. Those simple, yet touching gifts stopped after the car crash.

"That bastard," I think to myself. "Tomorrow, I'm going to get an explanation from that man."

I remember seeing Sydney talking to Vaughn, or whoever he is, after our meeting earlier today. That couldn't have been easy on her. I grab the phone. Pressing speed dial 1, I listen to three rings, and then hear an out of breath Sydney answer.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Sydney,"

"Hey, Dad."

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything is—stop it, that tickles—everything is fine. Listen, stop it, Dad's on the…" she laughs, and eventually manages to choke out, "phone."

"Are you 'busy'?" I feel odd asking such a question.

"Yeah, kinda."

"I was just wondering if you were okay. I saw you talking to Vaughn, er, well, you know, earlier."

"Dad, his name is Kendall."

I say nothing.

"Dad?"

I want to say something, but I can't think straight. I press the end button, and then grab my pants off the floor. Unholstering my gun, I eject the magazine, check that it's fully loaded, and push it back in.

I grab my car keys and leave Laura to her freshly filled water. I have business to take care of.

…TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Vaughn's (Kendall's) POV

Sydney looks so much like an angel when she's sleeping. There are several times that I have to pinch myself to make sure that this isn't all a dream. I look down at my wrists. The red lines from the handcuffs are still there, and I massage them gently as I sneak out of bed and into the kitchen.

I take the casserole dish from out of the oven, and start mixing together some pancake batter. I locate the chocolate chips easily. (I really need to thank Will for that conversation we had that one time.) Tossing a good amount into the mix, I start pouring the batter onto the heated griddle.

I walk over to the freezer next and pull out a can of concentrated orange juice. After finishing that up, I walk out to the little garden Sydney keeps behind the apartment, and, paying careful attention to the location of the thorns, I cut a rose, and as I walk back to the apartment, I realize the door is locked.

I look around in horror. (I probably should have mentioned earlier that I hadn't yet taken the time to clothe myself.) I rap lightly on the door, a rap that yields no response. I knock harder, but, again, nothing happens.

Knowing I'm going to get hell about this, I sneak over to Weiss's back door and knock quietly. I see some movement, the rustle of the curtain, and then the door slides open. "Vaughn, what the hell?"

"Can I borrow some clothes?"

With a smirk, he shakes his head, as he walks back to his room. He returns a few minutes later with a bundle of clothes.

"You know, Vaughn, I knew quite well what you two were doing last night. Would you mind keeping it down in the near future?"

Considering the situation I'm in now's not the time to crack a joke. "I'll talk to Syd. Thanks."

"What are buddies for."

I dress quickly, and then walk around to Sydney's apartment, grab her spare key, and stick it in the door.

It doesn't work. That's when I remember Sydney having tossed me the new key to her apartment.

I hate to wake her, but I have no choice. I ring the doorbell. She comes to the door a few minutes later, looking completely disheveled, but, in true Sydney style, hot as hell.

"What's going on?"

"I locked myself out." She groans and steps aside, and I let myself in.

"What are you wearing?"

"Some of Weiss's stuff?"

"Why?"

"Because I left my clothes in here." She begins to snicker. "Don't laugh at me," I say as I run my finger along her body. She twitches and cunvulses as I find the spot I know that she's the most ticklish at, and begin attacking it, first with my finger, and then with my tongue. (It's nice to see that I can still turn her into a giggling mess.) My phone rings making me stop what I'm doing.

"Vaughn," I answer.

"Son, you'll never guess who came to visit me last night."

"Jack."

"So you do know."

"Yeah. I told Sydney. She gave him just enough last night on the phone that he was probably able to deduce everything."

"You told Sydney everything?"

I look over at her. "Everything that matters. Yeah, why?"

"Even about that message?"

"What about the message?"

"Remember, back at the DSR…"

"That was just an old wives' tale. Wasn't it?"

He doesn't answer.

"Dad, does Area 51 really exist?"

"Of course it exists."

"You know what I mean. Is it true that they've got an dead alien and a space ship?"

Silence again.

"Dad, what are you saying?"

"Perhaps they're coming back in larger numbers this time."

"Dad, trust me, we've already figured out that the transmission came from a parallel universe."

"What?"

"Dad, it's no conspiracy theory. It's a parallel universe."

"Is it Earth-347, Earth-434, or Earth 452?"

"I believe it's actually a parallel universe we don't know about." Sydney's looking at me funny now. "Old DSR stuff," I mouth to her. I turn back to the phone. "I thought the Parallel versions of the DSR agreed on rules. I thought there was supposed to be no contact!"

"That was the rules, but if this is a new universe, then perhaps they don't know the rules. Listen, I need to be there for the meeting."

"I'll talk to Director Chase. Hopefully she can pull some strings."

"Good. I'll talk to you tomorrow if we're lucky, then."

"All right. Talk to you then." I hang up. Sydney's waiting for me with her hands on her hips.

"What exactly do you know about this transmission?"

"Syd?"

"Yeah?"

"You may want to sit down for this."

She complies, and I begin. "When I started with the DSR, I was just a analyst. I'd receive reports about the paranormal, check the facts, and decide if there was enough evidence to send in an agent. One of my first reports was about the sudden influx of discoveries of communications from other planets. These transmissions were odd. Sometimes they were years behind, sometimes they were…well…we were years behind. There was one transmission I picked up that was from 3125."

"A. D?"

"A. D. So, here we are picking up all these transmissions, and when we start pinpointing their locations, we were able to verify the locations of over 500 parallel universes."

"Five-hundred?"

"Five-hundred. This transmission, it appears to be from a universe that we don't even know about yet, and by the time I quit the DSR, we were up to 511 parallel universes.

"What scares me most is that they're facing a crisis that scientist have been warning is coming nearer and nearer for our planet, and the fact that it's your voice on that transmission means that it's going to happen sometime in our lifetime."

"This is going to happen to Earth?"

"Quite possibly." I sigh. "Plus, we've never actually received a ambassador from a parallel universe before, and with some of the theories going around, if they arrive here, it could very well be the end of the world."

…TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jack's POV

He walks in this morning with my daughter. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. After what he kept from her, I'm surprised that she's forgiven him. I guess I should be glad, though, because if Sydney couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him, then I know I wouldn't have been given as many chances as she has given me.

I intend to have a long discussion with him later today, but first I must head up the meeting. My phone rings and my hand goes down to my waist where I unclip my phone and, flipping it open, bring it to my ear. "Bristow," I say gruffly, and I hear an authoritative female voice on the other end. "Agent Bristow, it's Director Chase."

"Good morning. How's Dixon?"

I may have hit a nerve, because I hear her sigh, and then she answers. "He's getting better."

"Good."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence passes. "Agent Bristow?"

"I'm here."

"We've been ordered by the DSR to allow an agent to join APO for the meeting with the ambassador."

"If I may ask, ma'am, who's the agent?"

"Agent Kendall. I believe you two know each other?"

My memories drift back to last night. "Yeah, I know him."

_"Who is it?" his voice calls out as I stand on his front porch._

"Jack Bristow."

I hear locks coming undone, and Kendall steps out in full view, dressed in dark blue pajamas.

"What's going on?"

I pull out my gun. "You have five minutes to tell me everything you know about Agent Vaughn, and don't lie to me. I'm not in the mood to be played."

He sighs. "Come on in."

I walk in the front door. "Tea? Coffee? Water?"

"Nothing, thanks."

He heads for the kitchen. "You don't need your gun. I'm perfectly willing to talk. What I'm about to tell you only has historical significance, anyway."

I click the safety on, and Kendall returns with a mug of hot tea. "Tell me what you know, and I'll fill in from there."

"Sydney and Vaughn were in Santa Barbara, celebrating their engagement." Kendall nodded, apparently fully aware of the circumstances. "Sydney told me that they were confessing their love for each other when Vaughn said he needed to tell her something. She said he could handle it, as long as he wasn't a bad guy, to which he didn't respond. Why didn't he say anything?"

Kendall took a long sip. "Vaughn was DSR."

"Was?"

"He quit when Sydney died."

I nod, remembering that period of time.

"Before they met, Vaughn was rising rapidly at the DSR."

"How's that make him a bad guy?"

"It really doesn't, but the DSR isn't looked upon fondly by those who know about it. That's probably what he was getting at. It's nothing really, it just depends on who you ask."

"So his association with the DSR is what made him a 'bad' guy."

"That was probably his reasoning."

"He said it went back to before they met, and that it was the reason they met."

"We inserted him into the CIA to become her handler. We knew Sydney played a role in Rambaldi's endgame, but we were unclear as to what it was. We needed to find out."

I nod in concentration. "What about his name? What is it?"

Kendall nods slowly. "Dean Kendall, Jr. He's my son."

"But he doesn't look like you."

"He's not biologically my son, but me and my wife, we raised him."

"Who's son is he really, then?"

"Bill Vaughn. Jessica couldn't…We were having troubles…" he stopped there and I got his point. "If you tell anyone, you'll wish you hadn't."

"It's no one else's business."

"But, since we were having problems, Jessica suggested going to a sperm bank, so we did. We didn't want just anyone to be our babies father, so we asked some people from work, including Bill Vaughn."

"But I thought he was CIA?"

"He was," Kendall nods, "later in life. When we knew him, he was DSR."

I nod slowly in understanding. "We asked several friends, and eventually, Jessica got pregnant. When Vaughn was born, we had him tested to see just whose sperm fertilized the egg. It ended up being Bill Vaughn."

"Oh, that explains the appearance aspect."

"When Vaughn was growing up, we didn't feel it was right to lie to him. He knew I wasn't his biological father, and he and Bill did a lot together. He basically grew up with two dads, his biological father, and the father who raised him.

"Then Irina killed Bill, and he was heartbroken. Jessica and I were…having difficulties, but this time it wasn't…you know…sexual. This time it was problems with our marriage. I came home from work one day and…she was gone."

I start to notice Kendall's eyes fogging over, and I realize that it still hurt him to remember that time in his life.

"You don't have to go on if you don't want to."

He looks down, takes a deep breath, and looks up again. "I can keep going.

"I saw her again at the custody hearing. They decided that with my job, and the amount of time I spend away, that I wouldn't be a fitting father. They awarded her sole custody. It hurt. It really did."

"I remember times like that with Sydney. I was gone a lot. Even on some big occasions. Can I tell you a secret?"

Kendall looks over at me. "What?"

"Promise you won't tell?"

"Of course."

"Cat's in the Cradle makes me cry."

Kendall looks at me, eyes wide. "I know. It fits so well."

"Well in my case, Sydney actually did learn to walk while I was on a mission. I missed her first word. 'Bunny,'" I say, and bite my lip to keep from showing any telltale signs of emotion. "She said, 'Bunny,' and I wasn't there to hear her say it."

"Vaughn's first word was 'Da-da.'"

"Did you hear him say it?"

Kendall shook his head. "I was in Cairo."

"Paris for me."

We both nod knowingly.

"You want to see some pictures?"

"Sure." Kendall got up, and as he walked away, I speak quietly.

"I'll take some tea, too."

"You two used to work together at JTF, right?" Chase asks, bringing me back to reality.

"Yeah, JTF, right."

"Is everything all right, Jack?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." I hang up, and head for the meeting room. Clearly Weiss is making fun of Vaughn for something, but I don't know what.

I clear my throat and everyone looks up at me.

…TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Marshall's POV

I've known what it's like to be excited. I distinctly remember Carrie coming to me, looking completely solemn, right before she told me that she was pregnant. I remember when I was helping Sydney bypass Toni Cumming's (man, that chick is hot) lethal response system when she (Carrie, not Toni or Sydney) came to me saying, "It's time." My first mission is engraved in my mind (that Chinese man, Dr. Lee I think it was, is truly creepy). All of these times were more of a nervous excitement more than anything, but excitement nonetheless.

Knowing what will happen tomorrow, I'm filled with excitement. The best part is that it's not even nervous excitement. It's excitement, pure and simple. I am going to be present for the formation of world history. The euphoria I feel is unbelievable.

This turn of events makes me think that perhaps, in time, Star Trek may not be so far fetched. "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Their continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where…"

Jack starts speaking, and I focus my attention on him. "With the visit from the ambassador from our parallel universe taking place tomorrow, there are some points I'd like to bring to the forefront.

"First, although we are operating under the assumption that these…beings…are peaceful, I'd just like to state that we could be wrong. Does everyone understand? Sending one person in to do reconnaissance is actually a tried and true military tactic. That could very well be what they're doing; sending in one operative to scope out our military might in order to adjust their offensive schemes to lay waste to our resistance.

"Now that I've stated the potential risk, I'm also going to point out that we are not to use force unless we are fired upon."

"Excuse me, Mr. Bristow," I say raising my hand.

"Yes, Marshall?"

"I clear my throat. "As much as I'm looking forward to tomorrow, meeting intelligent life from another planet, and all of that, I am concerned about one aspect of this meeting."

"Which is?"

"Well," I start, trying to vocalize my apprehensions. "Have you ever seen Independence Day? It's that movie with the big, um, saucer-shaped ships that fly all over the world, destroying all big cities with that blue laser-type thing," (I continue, knowing I'm babbling, but how can I convey the technical aspects of the "laser-type thing" as I phrased it. Would they have known what I was talking about if I called it the super-compressed heat-wave emitter with incendiary capabilities?) "Everyone panics, and Will Smith, I can't remember his name in the movie, punches out that alien, and then takes it to Area 51, where they discover there's another alien in the head, and it says, 'Die! Die!'

There's mass panic everywhere, not quite on the lines of Savogda, but you know…people are panicking, the media's going crazy, and whatnot?"

"I fail to see the relevance, and yes, I am familiar with the movie."

"Right, um, what I was getting to was the reaction of both the public and the media. How are we going to control that?"

Jack's jaw hardens and I know the next news isn't going to be pleasant. "There's going to be an…'accident' that will…'persuade' people not to venture outside tomorrow. Do you understand?"

I nod, eyes wide. Did Jack just state that they were going to endanger several lives to keep the landing a secret?

As I look around the table, I notice I'm not the only one apprehensive about what was just said. Jack clearly noticed the reactions, also.

"Come on, people, and think it through. It's not going to be real. Haven't you ever heard of cover-ups? Haven't you ever heard of JFK's assassination?"

(Wow, Jack just admitted that there was another shooter from the grassy knoll.)

A nervous chuckle fills the room, but the chuckles turn into groans when Jack continues. "In order to be here for the meeting and to avoid the accident, I will need you all here by 3 o' clock tomorrow."

"A. M?" Weiss asks, and Jack glares at him.

"Yes, Agent Weiss, 3 o' clock a. m."

More groans.

"Since you all have an early day tomorrow, you may all go, except for you, Agent Vaughn."

I gather up my stuff, and leave Jack and Vaughn in the room alone. (I do not envy Vaughn right now.) I look over and see Sydney looking down, confusion on her face.

"Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. I've just got some…personal issues I'm dealing with now."

"Does it have something to do with Vaughn, or whoever he is?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Oh, well, I hope you figure it out."

"Thanks."

I nod and walk away. When I reach my Mini Cooper, I start looking for my keys. (Figures I'd lock them in my car.) I pull out my cell phone, and start modifying it so that it would broadcast the unlock frequency. (This isn't the first time I've had to do this.)

The lock pops up, and I climb in and head home. I pull up in front of the house and notice that Carrie's car is gone. Obviously she's at work.

I play my phone messages (my three terabyte computer is finally in), and as I'm walking by my place at the table I see a note.

Marshall, when you get this, we need to talk.

I try Carrie's phone, but I don't get an answer. Grabbing my…not again (cell phone, work your magic)…unlocking my car door, I grab my keys and drive over to the NSA building, where I request a meeting with Carrie.

Minutes later, she comes down, smiling when she sees me. Her eyes are red. Apparently she's been listening to Jodi Michaels, no, that's not right, Joni….what? Joni Mitchell, the name suddenly pops into my head.

She hugs me when she reaches me. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Work let out early. What's going on?"

She swallows hard. Oh, no, I think to myself.

"I had my yearly physical last week. Most of the stuff was simple; I passed it with flying colors. My blood work, however, was taking a while."

"Why?"

"There were heightened levels of HCG."

"HCG?" I ask, bewildered.

"Human chorionic gonadotropin," she answers, but doesn't answer why she's acting like she is.

"Which is?"

"Marshall," she says, placing her hand on my shoulder, "I'm pregnant."

I feel very light-headed. The world spins, and everything goes black.

…TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Vaughn's POV

"D alarm" I mumble to myself as I hit the button that silences it. Jack gave us all the night off to get enough sleep, but Sydney and I both had other things on our mind. Sure, we stopped earlier than we had planned, but still, waking up to a blaring alarm at two in the morning is never a pleasant experience.

I kiss Sydney gently on the neck, and then explore the area with my tongue. (She's the most ticklish in that spot.) Usually when I do this, Sydney turns into a wriggling, laughing mess. This morning she just rolls over slightly and looks at me.

"Not this morning, Vaughn—Kendall—whatever, I've got a killer headache."

"Syd, you can call me whatever you want."

"Vaughn?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you get me some aspirin?"

I smile at her. "Of course."

I roll out of the bed, walk over to where I had discarded my clothes from the night before, and slip on my boxers, and head over to the bathroom. Opening up the medicine cabinet, I push aside my shaving cream and some of her make-up, finally laying my hands on a small bottle. Tapping out two pills, I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass.

(As unfortunate as it is about Nadia, I must admit that I do like being the only ones in the apartment. I remember one time when Sydney asked me to get a drink, I ran into Nadia, who wasn't fully dressed either. Talk about awkward. I'm just glad it wasn't Weiss, although Sydney told me she's gotten an eyeful herself.)

That's beside the point, though. I fill up the glass, and take it in to Sydney who's also starting to get dressed.

"Do you want to shower first or should I?" I ask.

She looks over at me and smiles. "Who said anything about first?"

Thirty minutes later, we both emerge from the shower, soaking wet. "Do you want breakfast?"

She groans. "It's too early."

"Syd?"

"Yeah?"

"Is everything all right?"

"What? Why are you asking?"

"You've been acting a bit…strange since we got back together."

"I'm fine, Vaughn."

I know I have no reason to, but I don't believe her. Something has been off in our relationship.

As I drive to APO, I glance over and see Sydney rotating the ring on her finger.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

She looks at me and then looks down. Something's clearly wrong. This is how she acts when she's not telling me something. She puts on a brave face, but little tics give her away.

"I'm just…" she begins, and then looks at me. "Please keep your eyes on the road."

What she just said hurts, but I know I deserve it. "Syd?"

"I got used to not wearing this for those two months. It feels a little foreign."

I nod and keep driving. I'm not going to force it out of her, but I learned in the DSR that people tend to be more apparent when they're tired. Their true colors shine through more readily.

The rest of the ride is plagued by an unnatural silence, so the stark contrast of a beaming Marshall greeting us when we walk into APO is a bit of a surprise. He hands me a cigar, then Sydney gets one, too, but she politely declines.

"What's the occasion? Is it the meeting today?"

"Not at all. I'm going to be a dad again."

I smile. "Congratulations, Marshall."

I glance over at Sydney. She smiles, but it's clearly just a smile of politeness. "Congratulations," she says, and then starts to walk away.

I follow her. "Syd, what's wrong?"

She shakes her head, and a tear starts rolling down her cheek. I brush it away with my hand, and then lift her face to mine. "What is it?"

"Carrie…" she starts, and then begins crying again.

"What is it?"

"Carrie's not the only one…"

"She's not the only one that's pregnant? Is that what you're trying to say?"

Sydney nods, clearly plagued by something she's not telling me.

"What aren't you telling me."

"I feel so guilty."

"What did you do?"

"When I found out..."

"What?"

"I considered...ending..."

I realize what she's saying. "Did you do it?"

Sydney looks at me apologetically. "I was at the clinic, but I couldn't go through with it."

...TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 (Varied POVs)

**Sydney's POV**

I look at his face, the shock quite evident. "Vaughn, I…"

"You're still pregnant, right?"

I nod nervously. "I couldn't go through with it."

Even through the tears that are forming in his eyes, he smiles. "I'm going to be a daddy."

"You're going to be a daddy," I say, a smile forming on my face.

His smile fades. "What is it?"

"You didn't talk to me for two months after the accident."

"So?"

"So…you were pregnant when the the car hit?"

"I didn't know about it, but, yeah."

"Oh, geez," I hear him mumble quietly. "Is he…she…it all right?"

"The doctors are saying that…it's fine."

"You don't know the…"

"Gender? No, I don't." He nods slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"That would have required speaking to you. I didn't want to go through that."

"Not then. I understand that. Why didn't you tell me when we got back together."

I sigh. "It was too perfect. I didn't want to…blemish that."

"Blemish? Syd, this is a blessing."

I sigh and nod slowly. "Does Jack know?"

**Jack's POV**

She told him. I told her she had to, but still, it's always a shock to hear the woman you love tell you she's pregnant.

_"Jack, Sweetheart, could you come in here please?"_

My feet were up, and I was comfortable. Arvin and I had just infiltrated the lab in Lima where the terrorists-of-the-month were cooking up some VX poison gas. The fight was short lived. The goons that tried to stop us had been trained in basic fighting techniques; techniques that we had learned to block and use to our advantage on The Farm.

Getting the containers was a bit more difficult. We were forced to break into a safe using just a telephone. (That is also taught early on at The Farm, but still, it was an unneeded detainment.)

I sigh and get up, walking over to where Laura was standing with a smile on her face. "Jack, I got some great news today."

"Really?" I ask, perking up, like only Laura can make me do.

"Jack, I'm pregnant."

Although I had been apprehensive when Laura…excuse me, Irina told me she was pregnant, every time I look over at Sydney, my daughter, the one thing in my life that matters most, even more than my life matters, I'm filled with a sense of pride. The idea that such an incredible woman exists, and that that woman just happens to be my daughter, fills me with an odd optimism for the future.

And now, I'm going to be a grandpa.

**Weiss's POV**

Sydney clearly told Vaughn something major judging from the look on their faces, and then when I look over at Jack, he seems lost in thought. _What the h is going on?_ I ask myself. I see Sydney smile at Vaughn, and lean in for a kiss before going their separate ways.

"Syd?" I call out, and watch as she walks towards me.

"Yeah, Weiss? What is it?"

"I just wanted to remind you that…" I try to continue, but I can't.

"About Nadia, right?" she asks, and I nod emphatically.

"Don't worry. I'll remember to ask the ambassador."

"Speaking of that, when are they coming?"

Sydney opens her mouth to speak, but is cut off by Director Chase who has just walked in.

I look over at Ms. Chase, and see a familiar bald headed man standing behind her. She makes the general announcement that Kendall will be attending the landing of the ambassador in about a half an hour.

**Vaughn's POV**

I glance down at my watch as Sydney walks back over to me. "Vaughn," she calls out, and I stop.

"What is it?"

"Seeing your dad, it…it reminded me of a question I was going to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"Two, actually. First, did he tell you that I was alive? He knew."

I sigh and shake my head. "I'd left the CIA and the DSR shortly after you 'died.' When he found out, I didn't have a high enough security clearance, so he was forced to withhold that information."

She nods slowly.

"You said there were two questions?"

"When you were sick from the water from the Mueller device, he was willing to let you die, because when Sark asked me to kill Sloane, he wouldn't authorize it."

_She brought that up,_ I think to myself. "Syd, he was working behind the scenes, trying to buy off an employee at that warehouse. You met Sark's demands before he could get the cure, though."

"Vaughn?"

She looks at me, a look of disbelief in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Tell me the truth."

"Syd," I begin, "After Mom left Dad, we fell apart. We were almost like strangers when we started at the DSR. I was under someone else's command when I was there, but we tried to develop a relationship. We were just starting to…" I stop talking and swallow hard. "We were just starting to get to know each other when I was given the option to infiltrate the CIA. I took it. I think he kind of took that as a betrayal, and when he became the director at JTF, we weren't on the greatest of terms. He **was** working behind the scenes, but he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere, so he was just hoping that the typical Bristow stubbornness would come through and you'd kill Sloane even though he was required to tell you not to do it.

"He was rooting for you. You just didn't know it."

She looks at me. "If I would have succeeded, what would he have done? He would have been legally obligated to report me."

"He would have written it off as covert DSR work and let you get on with your life."

She's clearly considering what I said when Dad comes over at looks at us.

"We need to get going," he says, nods, and walks away.

**Sydney's POV**

We arrive at the meet site a few minutes later. A quiet hum starts sounding and we all look up. A small round object is hovering above us. As it descends lower, darkness covers the ground.

The craft lands effortlessly. I stare in awe at the mechanical marvel before us. A hiss sounds in conjunction with a quick release of steam as the ramp lowers. Another shadow appears. As the inhabitant of the ship starts down the ramp, I see the legs. Moments later, I can see the waist, followed by an upper body, and then finally the head appears. I stare at the person's face, not paying attention to how everyone is staring at me.

It's creepy just how similar we look. She's got my face and my body. It's almost like she's my twin. I stand there in shock as she finishes descending the ramp. She takes her first step onto Earth's soil, and quickly grabs her stomach, before falling to the ground, moaning in pain.

…TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Parallel Sydney's POV

I never believed in life on other planets. The whole concept of aliens and UFOs and all the other stuff like that just seemed ridiculous to me. (I think that might have had to do with having Dad as my father. He was always stressing the importance of everything having an explanation; of course that's when he was home.)

When I first started working at SD-6, the whole concept that all things have a reasonable explanation went out the window. I saw things that were so crazy that, after a while, a small floating red ball full of water almost seemed normal.

While I've grown accustomed to the strange and unexplainable nature of the world I live in, Kendall's announcement that our world was in danger and that it had been agreed to contact a parallel universe in order to seek refuge was so far out of the realm of the believable-unbelievability that I was sure I was dreaming. His subsequent announcement of his true affiliation with the DSR just added to the weirdness that was my life.

"We have a spaceship from the landing at Roswell, and we plan to use this ship to travel to that planet. What I need from you all is a volunteer to take the trip. Do I have any takers?"

I had no intention of volunteering, but when Vaughn's hand went up, I knew that he'd want some company on the trip. I was right. Three days later, the ship took off from Earth, and as we sailed through the vast darkness, he chose then to tell me about his history with the DSR.

I was shocked, of course, but as that old saying goes, "Love is never having to say you're sorry."

After all that had happened up to this point, I wasn't going to let a little secret get in the way of such a promising relationship. As time wore on in the complete and utter darkness, we both realized that there was really only one way to pass the time. (If you ever get a chance, getting it on in zero-gravity is so erotic it's not even funny.)

After about a week and a half on the ship, we were alerted that we were nearing Parallel Earth number 137. I transmitted the distress call and waited for a response which came promptly. When we finally agreed on a landing site and time, we adjusted our speed accordingly.

Three days later, there we were, landing on a parallel version of our planet. I could see my parallel self standing there, waiting for me.

Suddenly, as I stepped of the ramp of the ship, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. The easiest way to describe it is like someone had thrust a knife into my abdomen and began pulling on something inside me. I passed out before I knew what had happened.

I don't know how long it was until I woke up in the hospital bed, an IV in my arm, and an ethnic doctor looking over me.

"How are you feeling, ma'am?"

"My stomach hurts," I mumble, looking up at him.

"I've gone over your vitals six times already. There's nothing abnormal about them."

"What'd you compare them to?"

"To the Sydney of this universe. Sydney 1 if you wish."

I pull up my hospital gown so that I can examine my stomach quickly. My eyes quickly land on an odd scar. I know I didn't have this scar when I left.

"What's this?"

"That's where your eggs were extracted."

"When…Why were my eggs extracted."

"I don't know. When I got your…pardon me…Sydney 1's file, she had reported that her eggs had been extracted."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Of course," he says, and leaves. Moments later, I…she walks through the door.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Why were my eggs extracted?"

"You don't know?"

"No," I state clearly. "Should I know?"

"It happened during the two years."

"What two years?"

"After the fight with Allison…"

"Who's Allison? Is that Vaughn's ex-girlfriend's real name?"

"No, her name is Alice."

"Then who's Allison?"

"She's Francie's double."

"Double? You mean with Markovich's machine?"

"Yeah."

"It's Francie? She's the second double?"

"Yeah. What year are you from?"

"We left in 2003. What year is it now?"

"It's 2007."

The words sink in.

"You guys are from four years in the future?"

"I guess from your point of view, yeah. From my point of view, however, you're from four years in the past."

"What's going on with Vaughn and you? Are you married?"

"No, we're just engaged."

"It's been four years, and you're just engaged?" I ask incredulously.

"He was married to Lauren for…"

"He got married to someone?"

"During my missing two years."

"What do you mean 'missing two years'?" I ask, but I'm not sure I want to know.

"After my fight with Allison, Francie's double, I passed out. When I woke up, I was in Hong Kong with a strange scar on my stomach."

"Where the eggs were extracted."

"Right. Vaughn came to the safe house where I was staying. He had a ring on his finger. I asked him about it, and he told me that I had been missing…" she starts to tear up. "He told me that I had been missing for two years, and in that time, he'd gotten married."

"To who?"

"Lauren Reed. She was the daughter of Senator Reed and Olivia Reed."

"Was?"

"Vaughn killed her."

"Why?"

"She was evil."

"Vaughn married an evil woman?"

"She was a double agent for a terrorist organization who had been ordered to seduce and marry him."

"Will the Vaughn on the ship marry her?"

"Wait, is Vaughn's parallel version here too?"

"Yeah, he's here."

"Why didn't he come out?"

Before I can answer, the doctor comes in again. "Just ignore me. I need to check on the baby."

"Baby? I'm not pregnant!"

"Well, you are now."

I look over at my parallel self. "Are you?"

She nods slowly.

"Oh, s," I say quietly. This isn't good.

"What is it?"

"Sydney," I start, "I need you to do me a favor."

…TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Parallel Vaughn's POV

I watched in utter horror as Sydney, the girl of my dreams, collapsed and withered on the ground outside of the ship. Dad had warned me that we were dealing with the great unknown contacting a parallel planet, and that he couldn't give me an adequate idea of what to expect upon arrival.

Of course I dismissed these theories. They were obviously desperate attempts to scare me into staying. Little did I know that he was right. We are dealing with the unknown.

I yearn to leave the ship. I long to run to Sydney's side and comfort her; however, I know that the odds are great that if I leave this ship, I'll suffer the same consequences as her.

We've only been a couple for about three weeks now, but considering just how far our relationship has come in the year and a half since we met, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I had considered proposing on this trip, but even I knew that it was too soon. (That didn't stop me from buying the ring, however.)

I listen for the sound of the traffic, a mainstay in all of Los Angeles, but only silence greets my ears.

I know I shouldn't, but I poke my head out into the air. I feel fine. I take a step forward. I still feel fine. Two more steps. Nothing. I look down. My feet are at the edge of the ramp. I look up.

The h with it, I say to myself.

I take my first step onto this Earth's soil. A stabbing pain hits me in my lower abdomen and my back, and I can feel several other sore spots on me. Grabbing firmly on both sides of my dress up shirt, I rip it open and stare down at the scar that has just formed on my stomach. I taste a disgusting creamy semi-solid liquid on my tongue.

It makes me gag. I put my hand up to my mouth as I cough violently. My head is throbbing. The last things I see before I lose consciousness is blood on my hand, and the rocky pavement coming closer.

Vaughn 1's POV

Sitting in the waiting room is never pleasant. There's an old lady reading the most recent Time Magazine.

I feel a liquid run from my forehead, to my nose, and as it passes by my eye, I can detect a red coloration to it. I put my hand to my head, and when I pull my hand away, it's covered in blood. I feel lightheaded, and as my body lurches forward, I manage to mumble, "Get help! Please." I can only hope she heard me.

…TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Kendall's POV

I've been sitting outside of this room for over three hours now. I don't like to wait, but since I'm not family, they've been keeping me out of the room with the ambassador the whole time she's been here.

Sydney went in just a few minutes ago.

The door opens and I look up. She's standing in the doorway; her hand bandaged slightly.

"What happened?" I ask.

"We've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but she…" Sydney says, gesturing with her head toward the room, "she's getting my injuries. She's from about four and a half years in the past, but yet, her eggs have been extracted and she's pregnant, neither of which has happened to me until now."

The words start to sink in. "Is that why you…" I trail off and nod toward her hand.

"We had to test our theory to make sure it was accurate."

Suddenly, another realization hits me. "You said she was pregnant? You're indicating she got that from you, right?"

"Yeah," she says, and my eyes go wide. "You're going to be a grandpa."

"Male? Female? Hermaphrodite?" I don't know why I said that last part, but it causes Sydney to smirk ever so slightly, and I look at her expectantly.

"I…I don't know."

"It is Vaughn's right?"

She nods somberly, and looks at me. An unnatural silence hangs in the air. We've said all we really need to say, but yet it feels like there's still stuff left to be said.

"I'm going to go call Jessica. I dislike her, but she deserves to know."

Sydney smiles again, and I turn and walk away.

As I'm walking down the hall, several doctors rush by me, and in the short amount of time that my eyes rested on the patient, I recognized him immediately. "Michael," I mutter quietly.

I want to follow them; I want to know what's wrong with them, but Sydney's remarks about how parallel versions seem to share ailments echoes in my mind, and the next thing I know, I find myself running down the steps to my car.

I arrive at the landing site a few minutes later. I can clearly make out a body lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood forming around his head. Running over, I turn the limp body over.

He has a pulse, and his breaths are ragged, but steady. I work hard to maneuver Vaughn to a position that will allow me to move him better.

When I finally get him into my car, I spray gravel as I speed out of the parking lot.

On my way back to the hospital, I hear an announcement on the radio that the "accident" from this morning has been cleaned up, and that travel can be resumed.

I know that I should quickly flip a U-turn and head back to the ship to conceal evidence of it, but I continue on the path to the hospital. I need to save him.

The doctors take over when I finally arrive at the hospital, and once again I can relax. I remember that I'm supposed to call Jessica, but as I head for a payphone, I see the spaceship on the TV.

I can't hear the newswoman, but I already know it's too late. We've been exposed.

One word comes to mind as this realization sinks in. "S!"

…TBC…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Weiss's POV

I've been waiting in the hospital for several hours now. I want to go home and get some rest (I really don't enjoy getting up at 2:00 am), but I wait in the lobby for any news to be announced. The TV is on, but muted, and I'm not paying much attention to it; I'm much more intrigued by this story I'm reading in Reader's Digest. I hear my name spoken and I look up to see Sydney standing before me, her hand bandaged.

"What happened?"

"There may be a way to cure Nad…"

I look up at her to see why she stopped talking, and that's when I see the spaceship on the TV.

"Not good," she mutters quietly. She shakes her head slowly. "What do we do?"

I shrug, and then sigh nervously. "There's really nothing we can do."

"We've been exposed," suddenly I hear Kendall say, and I look over at him. "We're going to let the media put whatever sort of spin they want to on this. I talked to…" he trails off as he looks at Sydney. "I talked to the other you," he says, emanating a weird feeling of uncertainty, a trait I have never seen in Kendall before. "She told me that the ship is from Area 51. I contacted a co-worker who has been working on controlling the spaceship we have there by computers. She said that she could probably hack into this spaceship and fly it over to Area 51. It's a risky procedure, but I gave her the go ahead."

Minutes later, the reporter was gesturing emphatically as the ramp on the ship closed, and it slowly rose into the air, and then streaked through the sky with an unbelievable speed.

"That's that," Kendall said, and walked away.

I look over at Sydney, who's slowly shaking her head.

"What is it?" I ask, concerned.

She shakes her head again. "I love Vaughn. I love him more than anything. I'm just a little apprehensive about having Kendall be my father-in-law."

"I understand." I glance over at her, and speak again. "Not to change the topic, but didn't you say something about possibly being able to save Nadia?"

She nods, and smiles. (Considering all Sydney has been through in the past four years, it's nice to see her smile on occasion.)

"It's just a theory right now, but…" she trails off, and then asks if she's explained how Sydney (the other Sydney, that is) got her injuries. I tell her that she hasn't and she proceeds to explain what happened to Other Sydney (Syd2 if you will).

When she finishes, I look up at her completely confused. "How does that help us?"

"I've been thinking about it. Perhaps my parallel version got my injuries because I have a stronger…" she pauses, searching for the right word, "life-wave…" she says, and pauses again. "Perhaps I have a stronger life-wave than she does because I'm a native of this specific universe. Perhaps if I were to go to their planet, they'd have a stronger life-wave. If that's the case, if they take Nadia back with them when they head back for their planet, perhaps she'll get cured. Perhaps Nadia's parallel version will be able to cure this universe's Nadia. It's a long shot, but who knows? It may work."

I start to feel a sense of hope, but it soon fades. "What if it doesn't work? What if we just contaminate Parallel Nadia? Then we'd have two Nadias, neither able to cure the other."

"The way I see it is that if we try and it works, we get Nadia back. If we try and fail, we won't have gained anything, but we won't have lost anything. If this Nadia stays contaminated, and the other Nadia doesn't get contaminated, then she'll be contaminated upon arrival on this planet. If that Nadia gets contaminated, and they leave her there on that planet, Parallel Nadia will die, but this Nadia won't. It's going to be risky no matter what, so why not hope for the best?"

I think about what she just said.

"I wanted to ask your opinion before authorizing it. What do you think? Do you want to try it?"

I look at Sydney and smile. I reach up to my neck and grab a hold of the necklace I'm wearing. Taking it off, I hand it to her.

She slowly turns the ring at the end of the chain in her hand.

"It's my grandma's," I explain quietly. Vaughn told me that he was planning on proposing, and I told him about how I had been considering it myself. He told me that, if you would both agree to it, we could have a double wedding. I was going to pop the question when you all got back from Savogda, but…" I trail off. "Do anything you can to save her."

She smiles and nods. "I was hoping you'd say that." She hands me the ring and walks away.

For the first time since I found out about what had happened to Nadia, I genuinely smile.

…TBC…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Sydney2's POV

Pain is a funny thing. When I landed on this planet, I keeled over from the stabbing pain in my abdomen, and now I feel fine. (The drugs they gave me probably helped a little, though.) The doctors warns me to take it easy as I gather everything together.

The three hours that I've been in her went by quickly. Part of that was probably my conversation with...myself...I guess that's the only way to phrase it quickly. She graciously agreed to let me stay at her place.

I'm actually quite excited to see her new apartment. She didn't go into much detail about why she moved, but I have a feeling it has something to do with those two years she's so quiet about.

The CNA's transfer me to a wheel chair and wheel me down to the lobby, where everyone turns and stares at me. I wave slightly. "Are you ready to go?" I…she…parallel me asks.

I nod slowly. "Yeah."

Parallel Sydney (or perhaps Original Sydney) helps me out of the chair, and as I gain my footing, I follow her as she walks out to her car.

The drive home is amazing, but not in a good way. Countless people are lining the street holding up hastily made signs, some reading, "Go Back Home," "We Don't Need You Here!" "You Are NOT Welcome Here!" "Leave NOW," and, the most simple and to the point, "DIE!"

In stark contrast, other people were holding up such signs as, "Welcome," "Make Yourselves At Home," "I Hope You Have A Cure for Cancer," and "Abduct ME!" The third group of signs really weren't able to be classified. "Do You Want Your Anal Probe Back?" "Please Bring Back Elvis," and "Mulder was right: We Are NOT Alone!"

I shake my head in disgust. "What is it?" I…Sydney 1 asks.

"They don't even know what they're dealing with and they've already taken sides." I see another sign that says, "DIE!" and I instruct Sydney 1 to stop the car.

"What are you going to do?" concern quite evident in her voice.

"Just stop the d car."

"Syd…"

"Stop the car." I feel the car slow, and I open the door and head back towards that man. He's shouting profanities and spewing crap about how this is the end of civilization.

"Send those scum suckers back to where they came from!" I can feel some stomach acid rise to my mouth, giving me that disgusting just-vommitted taste.

"Am I to take it that you don't want them here?" I ask bluntly. He gives me a once-over and nods in approval.

"Well, if they looked like you, I'd have to re-evaluate my position."

"Well, start re-evaluating, you ahole."

His eyes narrow. "You're one of them?"

"I guess you're not as slow as you seem."

He stares at me for a bit, and then turns his head and says loudly, "She's one of them!"

Slowly the other men begin to surround me.

"I think a nice welcoming is in order," one of the thugs says, and then throws a punch.

(I'm starting to see now how in all those sci-fi movies I used to see with Charlie why humans were always under the control of robots. If the first contact with an alternate life form is to start a fight, and with a basic punch that I learned early on how to deflect, then obviously the human race is doomed to a future of violence, destruction, and death.)

I use a simple evasive maneuver that I was taught at SD-6 to block his attack and to pin his arm in a very uncomfortable position behind his back. I'm usually not very violent; I don't believe in using more force than is necessary, but after all I've been through, something in me clicks, and I force the arm back until I hear a sickening, yet satisfying "Pop."

The man falls to the ground moaning in pain, and I look around at all the other men waiting for a shot at me and think quietly to myself, "This is going to be fun."

They begin closing in.

A gunshot rings out.

My eyes go wide as the man in front of me drops to the ground.

…TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Irina's POV

It's been a long, long year. I remember talking with him online.

"IRINA. HAVE INTEL ON COVENANT ENDGAME. NEED TO DISCUSS." My eyes danced quickly over the entry on my screen, and I typed out a simple response.

"What do you need?"

"I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT THE PASSENGER," he had typed back. (One disadvantage of posing as an English teacher for as long as I did is that the fact that he omitted a period irks me.)

I had managed to get "How did you fi…" typed when I heard movement behind me. I had turned just in time to see Elena jab a needle into my neck.

When I woke up next, I was in that d hole in the ground.

I hear a siren in the background and quickly head over to my bag. I didn't have much in the way of clothes when I left Savogda, but since so many people had died there, finding an ample supply of cash, clothing, and certain weapons was relatively simple.

While I know that it's not proper etiquette to steal from dead people, I rationalize it by reminding myself that this stuff is not going to get used anyway.

The siren is getting closer, and I cautiously peer through the window curtains. The cop car stops in front of the Wal-Mart across the street. Quickly opening my bag, I pull out the binoculars.

As I survey the front of the store, it's clear that there's a mass panic. People are looting, and I see the cop run out and un-holster his gun.

The man with the grocery cart stops running and puts his hands behind his head. Suddenly I see another man sneak up behind the cop with a wooden board and swings it at the officers head. My eyes widen as the cop crumples to the ground at the impact.

I quickly turn on the TV, where I see a reporter standing in the middle of utter chaos. I'm listening as hard as I can to figure out what's going on.

Only one thought comes to mind as the report continues. I need to contact Jack.

…TBC…


End file.
